Cold Florida — Phillip Depoy

Introducing former car thief and amateur sleuth Foggy Moskowitz in the first of a brand-new noir mystery series.

It's 1974. Foggy Moskowitz, a Jewish car thief on the run from the Brooklyn authorities, ends up in Florida working for the first office of Child Protective Service. For personal reasons.

An unlikely, but tenacious, child protection officer, he takes on an investigation to find a missing infant, taken from the hospital by her addict mother. But the case takes several unexpected turns as Foggy makes his way from seedy Fry's Bay to Indian Seminole swampland, undertaking a vision quest, a rite of passage in some Native American cultures, in the process.

Along the way he encounters more than a few interesting characters, including John Horse, an Indian mystic, and works to foil a vast land-grab scam by an uber-rich felon.

Amusing yet moving, mixing passion with pathos, and introducing some memorable characters, Phillip DePoy has created a hugely entertaining new series.